Trip Report – Steam Railroading Institute Part 1

West Riley Road

With all of my photo plans cancelled by the restrictions on gatherings and closure of state and national parks, I’ve been working on my backlog of images that need to be edited. First up in that group were images from a Lerro Photography charter at the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan in January 2019. This was a two day charter featuring Pere Marquette 1225. For those who have seen the Polar Express, this is the locomotive that they used as inspiration for the animated locomotive in the movie. They even went so far as to have Skywalker Sound record Pere Marquette 1225 for use as sound effects for the movie.

Over the course of two days, we covered a number of locations over the 15 miles between Owosso and Elsie. The following are a few of my favorites in no particular order:

West Wilkinson Road Sunrise

West Wilkinson Road Sunrise

North Smith Road Farm

North Smith Road Farm

King Road Crossing

King Road Crossing

Carland Elevator

Carland Elevator

South Woodbridge Road Crossing

South Woodbridge Road Crossing

West Wilkinson Road Sunset

West Wilkinson Road Sunset

Check back next Tuesday for Part 2, including images from the night sessions.

Trip Report – Photographing Doc

As I mentioned Friday, I had the incredible opportunity to attend a photo shoot with Doc, one of the two flying B-29 Superfortress’ this past June.  The original plan was to shoot one of the B-24’s out on the hot ramp, but an afternoon thunderstorm resulted in the protective covers being installed on the B-24’s which nearly derailed the shoot.  Thankfully, Doc’s Friends were willing to allow us to photograph Doc on short notice.

We started with crew and civilian shots on the ground:

And then we moved inside for some cockpit shots:

It was a great shoot, and I hope to have the opportunity to do it again some day.  Thanks again to Doc’s Friends and Brett for being awesome hosts and to Pete and all the reenactors who made the shoot possible!

Oregon Trip Report 2018 – Part 3

Hug Point Falls

Continuing on from Part 1 and Part 2, Day Three started with a trip up the coast to see Haystack Rock:

Haystack Rock

Terrible Tilly (Tillamook Rock Lighthouse):

Terrible Tilly

Hug Point Falls:

Hug Point Falls

The original plan was to continue up the coast, but due to the cloud cover, we decided that it was perfect waterfall weather, so we headed to Portland to the Columbia River Gorge. Upon arriving we found clear skies and sun. Go figure. Stops included Lower Latourell Falls:

Lower Latourell Falls

Upper Latourell Falls:

Upper Latourel Falls

Multnomah Falls:

Multnomah Falls

And because the weather had cleared, the last stop of the trip was Mt. Hood for sunset:

Mt. Hood Sunset

Watching the alpenglow fade on Mt. Hood was a great way to end the trip.  Thanks for following along.

Oregon Trip Report 2018 – Part 2

Smith Lake Reflections

Continuing from last week’s Oregon Trip Report Part 1, The second morning of the trip starts in the small fishing village of Garabaldi, which is home to the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, for a Martin Hansen photo charter with the Polson Logging #2 pulling a log train and the McCloud #25 on a mixed freight. We covered a good portion of the line, stopping in several scenic locations including Garabaldi Pier:

Garabaldi Pier

Second Nehalem River Bridge:

Second Nehalem River Bridge

Hathaway Slough Trestle:

Hathaway Slough Trestle

Stasek Slough Trestle:

Stasek Slough Trestle

Three Graces:

Three Graces

and back to Smith Lake for the night session:

Smith Lake Blue Hour

Thanks again to Martin for putting on an excellent charter and also to Pete Lerro for leading the night session!

Look for Part 3, next Tuesday.

Oregon Trip Report 2018 – Part 1

Wreck of the Peter Iredale

While the main purpose of my trip to Oregon in May was to photograph the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad, flying into and out of Portland provided some additional photography opportunities.  First up was a stop at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center on Friday afternoon.  We arrived to find Southern Pacific 4449 parked outside in preparation for an open house the next day.

SP 4449

Inside the facility were Oregon Railroad & Navigation 197 and Spokane Portland & Seattle 700:

OR&N 197

From there we headed to Astoria where we caught the Riverfront Trolley running with several container ships waiting their turn to run up river:

Astoria Riverfront Trolley along the Columbia River

Flavel House gardens in full bloom:

Flavel House Rear Gardens in Spring

Next, we headed down the coast and found the wreck of the Peter Iredale:

Wreck of the Peter Iredale

After spending some time on the beach capturing the wreck under menacing skies, we make the final leg of the trip into Garabaldi for the photo charter the next day.

Look for Part 2 next Tuesday.

Trip Report – Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington 2018

Early Morning in the Yard

In April, the Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum in Alna, ME held their annual photo excursion.  The WW&F has been on my to-do list for a couple years and the opportunity to attend finally presented itself this year.  The day started in the yard with some locomotive maintenance and switching before moving out onto the line.

Enginehouse

Oiling Around

Switching the Yard

Water Tank

Out on the line we made several stops including Cockeye Curve:

Cockeye Curve

Humason Trestle:

Humason Trestle Reflections

Alna Center:

Station Master & Train Crew

And Top of the Mountain:

Switching the Yard

The WW&F Ry Museum is dedicated to historical accuracy in just about everything they do. While modern machinery is sometimes used where necessary, the old fashioned way is preferred wherever possible. Case and point was the removal of about 330ft of rail at Davis Grade. They needed to remove the rail to facilitate the correction of some roadbed issues and while they could have easily used modern machinery to pull the rail, they chose to do it by hand just as it was done in 1937 when the line was scrapped. Even more incredible was the fact that the flat car that was used by the original WW&F Ry to scrap the line is back in service at the WW&F Ry Museum today. Since none of the WW&F’s locomotives were operable in 1937, they used draft horses to pull the flat car. All of this was recreated for the photographers assembled this spring. Why? Because they can!

Scraping the Line

Scraping the Line

Scraping the Line

Scraping the Line

The day ended with a night session produced by Stephen Hussar and his crew. The night session actually started before dark in the machine shop where we found a mechanic working on the Railway’s Ford Model T Railcar:

The Mechanic

Once Blue Hour hit, we moved outside to work with the Train Crew and Locomotive #9:

Needless to day it was a fun day photographically and I’m looking forward to a return trip, hopefully next year.

Trip Report – Railfest 2017

Last fall, I attended Steamtown National Historic Site’s annual Railfest. The highlight of the event was a night photo session that included scenes at the Sand Tower, Mattes Street Tower and the Roundhouse. I arrived in time for the night session Saturday night and then stayed over to see the event Sunday. Special events included demonstrations in the machine shop, tours of the Office and Stores Building, and of course train rides pulled by Baldwin Locomotive Works #26.

Sand Tower:

Mattes Street Tower:

Roundhouse:

Machine Shop Demonstration:

Ring of Fire:

Singing the Theme Song:

Trip Report – Williamsburg

Over New Year’s weekend I traveled to Williamsburg for what has become a nearly annual photography trip with my Dad to see the Christmas Decorations in the Colonial Area. While I did take some exterior photos in the Historic Area (when the light is as nice as it was for Friday’s post, you have to make some photos), my focus was on the historic trades.

The Weaver:

Colorful Threads in the Weaver’s Shop:

The Joiner:

Spring Pole Lathe in the Joiner Shop:

The Tinsmith:

The Shoemaker:

Trip Report – Scranton Lace

Last fall I had the opportunity to attend the last tour of Scranton Lace hosted by Abandoned America.  Sadly due to the removal of the roof drain piping, water has created several unsafe conditions in the wooden portions of the complex.  As a architect, I was sad to see such senseless and preventable damage.  As a photographer, I was happy to have had the chance to photograph it, but wished I had known about it sooner.

Scranton Lace opened as the Scranton Lace Curtain Manufacturing Company in 1890, and eventually became the largest producer of Nottingham lace in the United States. Scranton lace continued operations until 2002 when it closed mid-shift. The complex was so large that it included a ballroom, gymnasium, theater, bowling alley, and infirmary, in addition to the vast production and storage facility. My understanding is that the current owners plan to redevelop the site, hopefully they aren’t too late.

Crates:

The last of the Nottingham Looms:

Theater:

Ripples:

Ballroom:

Trip Report – 2016 & 2017 Cass Fall Photography Workshops

Yes, I am a year behind in editing.  I recently finished up the photos from the 2016 & 2017 Cass Fall Photography Workshops.  In 2016, I was on a flight back from Colorado on Saturday morning, so I missed most of Saturday, arriving just in time for the night session:

Sunday featured a photo excursion to Whittaker including scenes at Back Mountain Road Crossing:

Lower Switchback:

Gum Road Crossing:

Gum Road Crossing

In contrast to my late arrival in 2016, I made it in time for the Friday night welcome session for the first time ever in 2017. Clayton gave a great talk on seeing and on composition.

Saturday included a shoot at the Jail:

We did an outdoor flash lesson with Monica serving as our fly fisherman model:

Saturday ended with the traditional night session, this time at the water tank:

Sunday started with a session inside the company store:

And we ended the weekend with a real treat.  We were granted access to the Ice House for a photo session:

Thanks again to Walter, Clayton, Monica, Matt and Andrew for all their hard work in putting together a great weekend. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us this fall.